A Conversation with MacDonald of Kingsburgh anent the foresaid Journal, with his Corrections upon it, and some remarkable Sayings of Him and his Lady etc.

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Citadel of Leith, Saturday, July 11th, 1747.

Mr AlexrAlexander MacDonald of Kingsburgh &and his Lady
were paying their Compliments to My Lady
Bruce, when it was proposed to read the
above Account or Journal in the hearing of
Kingsburgh, that so he might give his Ob-
servations, or rather Corrections, upon it. He
&and the whole Company (about 14 in Number)
declared yrtheir Satisfaction in yethe Proposal.

There were present, John Fullarton, Senior,
of Dudwick, JasJames MacDonald, Joiner in Leith,
Lady Lude, wtwith her eldest Son &and her DaugrDaughter,
Mrs Graham &and her Son, Mrs Rattray, Mrs Jean
&and Rachel Houstons, &cetc.

The Account was accordingly read, &and Kingsburgh made 143 (143)
made yethe following ObservaonsObservations.

Pag: 130. near the Foot, instead of Invergar
it should be Invergarry, a Place belonging
to the Laird of Glengarry.

Pag: 132. near yethe Foot, instead of Selpa it
should be Scalpa, commonly called the
Island Glass.

Pag: 134. at the Foot, instead of Irsky, it
should be Eriska.

Pag: 139. at the Top, Kingsburgh said, it
was not Fact, ytthat yethe Boat was searched, &and ytthat
yethe Prince should have heard qtwhat passed.

Ibid: Instead of 15 long Miles S:South S:South E:East it
should be 7 long Miles.

Ibid: Kingsburgh was at Pains to represent
to yethe Prince yethe Inconveniency &and Danger of
his being in a Female dress, particularly
from his Airs being all so Man-like,
&and told him, ytthat he was very bad at acting
yethe Part of a Dissembler. He advised him
therefore to take fmfrom him a SuteSuit of High-
land-CloathsClothes wtwith a Broad-sword in his
Hand, qchwhich would become him much better;
but, in yethe mean time, ytthat He should go out of
his House in yethe Female-dress, lest yethe Ser-
vants should be making yrtheir ObservaonsObservations, &and
stop at yethe Edge of a Wood, upon yethe Side
of a Hill, not far fmfrom yethe House, where He
&and oyrsothers should come to him wtwith yethe Highland
CloathsClothes, Broad-sword, &cetc.

Mrs MacDonald said, that she behoved to
employ her DaugrDaughter, as Handmaid to yethe
Prince, for putting on his WomensWomen's CloathsClothes;
“For (said she) the Deel a Preen1 he could put in. 144 (144)
“in.”— When✝ Miss MacDonald ^ alias, Mrs MacAllastar, was a dress-
ing of him, he was like to fall over with
Laughing. After yethe Peeners, Gown, Hood,
Mantle, &c.etc. were put on, he said, “O Miss,
“you have forgot my Apron. Where is my A-
“pron? Pray, get me my Apron here; for ytthat
“is a principel Part of my Dress.”

Kingsburgh &and his Lady both declared, that
yethe Prince behaved, not like one ytthat was in
Danger, but as chearfullycheerfully &and merrily as
if he had been putting on WomensWomen's CloathsCloathes
merely for a Piece of Diversion.

Agreeable to Kingsburgh’s Advice, they met
at yethe Edge of yethe Wood, qrewhere yethe Prince laid a-
side his Female-rags, qchwhich were deposited
in yethe Heart of a Bush, till a proper Opportu-
nity should offer of taking ymthem up; for these,
qtwhat were present, [] resolved to pre-
serve ymthem all as valuable Tokens of Dis-
tress. After yethe Prince had got himself
equiptequipped in yethe Highland CloathsClothes wtwith yethe Clay-
more in his Hand, yethe mournful Parting wtwith
Kingsburgh ensued. Away he went to Strug-
gle through a Series of fresh Dangers,
the Faithful MacKechan still attending
him. —Ibid: Instead of 15 long Miles
to Portree or Purtry, it should be 7 long Miles.

Pag: 140. Line 1. instead of 10 Miles it
should be 6.

Ibid: near yethe Foot, instead of Scorobry,
It should be Scorobreck.

Pag: 141. Kingsburgh said, that MacIntosh’s
Country, there named, behoved to be an
Error in yethe Writer, for ytthat MacIntosh had
no Property in Sky, &and it ought to be named
MacKinnon’s Country.

✝
Vol: 2. p: 216.
145 (145)
Pag: 142. Kingsburgh said, ytthat he thought,
yethe Prince, wtwith old MacKinnon, had landed
in Moron &and not in Knoidart; but he own’downed
MacKinnon behov’dbehoved to know best. He said,
he was pretty sure, ytthat old MacKinnon
was made Prisoner in Moron, qchwhich might
happen after his coming fmfrom Knoidart.

When all yethe Journal was read over,
Kingsburgh observed, ytthat yethe Persons, from whose
Mouths it had been taken, had not med-
dled wtwith his part of yethe Story; “and (said
“he) they were indeed right, for they know
“very little about it.”

Then particular Questions were put to
him wtwith Respect to ytthat Pamphlet, called
Alexis, Part 1st. — To give some Instan-
ces. It was asked him, Whether or not
it was true, ytthat he took along wtwith him, out
of SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDonald’s House, a Bot-
tle of Wine &and some Bread in his Pocket
for yethe Refreshment of yethe Prince, That he
had great Difficulty to find Him, &and ytthat it
was owing to yethe accidental Running of a
Flock of Sheep ytthat at last he found him
sitting upon a Rock?—He answered,
“All these Things are exactly true, as re-
“lated in that small Pamphlet.”

Then it was asked, Whether or not the
Prince made briskly up to him, wtwith a thick
short Cudgel in his Hand, &and asked, If he
was Mr MacDonald of Kingsburgh?—
He said, “It was really so, &and that yethe Prince
“very pleasantly said, Then all is well;
“come, let us be jogging on;” but ytthat he told
him he had brought some Refreshment along
wtwith him, qchwhich he behoved to take before they set 146 (146)
set out; qchwhich accordingly was done, they sitting
upon the Top of the Rock.

Asked further, If it was true, ytthat yethe Prince
lifted yethe Petticoats too high in wading yethe
Rivulet, qnwhen going to Kingsburgh, &and ytthat honest
MacKechan hastily called to him to be-
ware? —He said, “It is Fact,” &and that
MacKechan cried, “For God’s sake, Sir,
“take Care qtwhat you are doing; for you will
“certainly discover your selfyourself;” &and ytthat yethe Prince
laughed heartily, &and thanked him kindly for
his great Concern.

Asked farther, if yethe cursing &and blasphemous
Speech of yethe D:Duke of C:Cumberland was such as repre-
sented in Alexis, Part 1st?—“Exactly so,
“said he, for I had it almost in yethe very
“same Words fmfrom yethe Mouth of SrSir AlexrSir
“MacDonald, qowho was Witness to yethe Duke’s
“expressing himself in ytthat rough Way, whom
“(added he) I indeed never saw in yethe Face.”
Then he said, that Alexis was exactly &and li-
terally true in every Ace, (not only as to
Facts but even Circumstances) ytthat concerned
his Management of, &and ConversaonConversation wtwith, the
Prince, the Brogs not excepted; &and that he
looked upon yethe Recovery of X Cælestius
Vol. 8. 1800.
as a
great Blunder; for ytthat he had Reason to think,
ytthat he fell (as design’ddesigned) in yethe Attempt. “This
“is not to say (added he) ytthat I know any Thing
“certain of ytthat Affair, as if I had been an Eye-
“witness, or conversed wtwith those ytthat had seen
“yethe Fact; but qnwhen I was Prisoner in Fort-Au-
“gustus, an Officer came to me, &and very
“seriously asked, if I would know yethe Head
“of yethe young Pretender if I saw it. I told him
X
i.e. Rhoderick Mckenzie
147 (147)
“him, I would know yethe Head very well,
“provided it were upon yethe Body. But the
“Officer said, What if yethe Head be not upon
“yethe Body? Do you think, you could know it
“in that Case? To qchwhich I replied, In that
“Case, Sir, I will not pretend to know
“any Thing about it.”— Kingsburgh told
yethe Company, ytthat he was resolved, if any
Head should have been brought before
him, ytthat he would not have made them a
whit the wiser, even though he should
have known it; but he owned, no Head
was brought to him. He left it to the
Company to draw qtwhat Inferences they
pleased fmfrom ysthis ConversaonConversation betwixt him
and the Officer.
See the printed Copy of Alexis,
Part 1st bound up in the End of Vol: 8th of this Collection.

Kingsburgh informed us, that, when at Fort-
Augustus, he happened to be released one
Evening in Mistake for anoyranother Man of the
same Name. When yethe Irons were taken
off him, he went to SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDo-
ald’s Lodgings to ask his Commands
for Sky. SrSir AlexrAlexander happened to be a-
broad; but when he came in, he was
quite amazed qnwhen he saw Kingsburgh,
&and said, “Sanders, what has brought you
“here? Why, Sir, said he, I am released.
“Released, says SrSir AlexrAlexander! How has this come
“about? I have heard Nothing of yethe Matter!
“I do not understand it! As little do I
“know, says Kingsburgh, how it has come
“about, but so it is, ytthat I have got free”. Then
SrSir AlexrAlexander ordered a Bed to be made up
for Kingsburgh in yethe same Room wtwith himself; &and 148 (148)
&and when Kingsburgh (about 11 o’ Clock) was
beginning to undress in order to go to Bed,
an Officer came to yethe Door of yethe Room, &and
asked, if MacDonald of Kingsburgh was
there. “Yes, Sir, said Kingsburgh, I am
“here. What want You wtwith me? Why, re-
“plied yethe Officer, You must goego wtwith me to LdLord
“Albemarle, who wants to speak with You.
“Then, said Kingsburgh, I began to think
“within my selfmyself all was wrong with me.
“I begged, that I might be allowed to take
“my Rest all Night in the Place where I
“then was; &and that in yethe Morning I should
“wait upon Lord Albemarle, as soon as he
“pleased; &and that I would give my Word
“of Honour to do as I promised; &and besides,
“that SrSir AlexrAlexander would engage for me.
“No, No, said the Officer, that will not do,
“Sir; these are not my Orders; you must come
“along wtwith me quickly.” When Kingsburgh
came to yethe Door, &and saw ten or 12 Sogers wtwith
screwed Bayonets waiting to receive him,
he did not like ytthat Piece of Ceremony at
all: They had not gone many Paces fmfrom
SrSir AlexrAlexander’s Lodgings, till they met Lord
Albemarle, running himself out of Breath,
foaming at yethe Mouth, &and crying out, “Have
“ye got yethe Villain! Have ye got yethe Villain!
Kingsburgh mildly answered, “O why all
“this Hurry? Where is the Man, that will
“refuse Freedom, when it is offered him?
“I am here, My Lord, at your Service. I
“had no Intention of being in a Haste to
“leave the Place; &and though I had left it,
“you would have easily found me again;
“for I would have gone to my own House. I 149 (149)
“I had no Fear about any Thing. Howe-
“ver (says Albemarle still in a Passion) It
“is well, Sir, you are not gone. I had
“rather, by G—[od], have given any Thing,
“before this Mistake had happened. Go
“(added he) &and throw the Dog into Irons.”
Instantly the Orders were obeyed. But to
do Albemarle Justice, Kingsburgh said,
that in a Day or two he ordered him into
a better Place &and the Irons to be taken
away from him; &and every Day, after this,
that his Lordship sent to him, at Dinner-
time, three Dish of Meat from his own
Table wtwith two Bottles of Wine. By
this Time, the D:Duke of C:Cumberland had left Fort-
Augustus, in great Haste to London.

It was represented to Kingsburgh, that
his Lady, during his Confinement, had been
telling some Folks, that, upon conversing wtwith
him (her Husband) about yethe Pamphlet, A-
lexis, he should have said, that he knew
no Bodynobody, who could be the Author of it
but Neil MacKechan; so pointed &and ex-
act it was in giving the Narrative.
Kingsburgh, looking to his Lady, said,
“Goodwife, you may remember, I said,
“that I knew no Bodynobody, who could be
“the Author of that Pamphlet but eyreither
“Neil MacKechan or my selfmyself.”

When it was suggested, ytthat Neil MacKe-
chan (a low Man) could not be thought
capable of drawing up any Thing of that
Sort, Kingsburgh &and his Lady informed yethe
Company, ytthat MacKechan had been e-
ducated in the Scots College in Paris with
the View of commencing Clergyman; but that 150 (150)
that, after getting his Education, he had
droptdropped yethe Design; ytthat therefore he was capa-
ble enough, &and that he had proved a great
Comfort to yethe Prince in his Wanderings
by talking to him in yethe French Language
about Matters of Importance in yrtheir Diffi-
culties, qnwhen perhaps it was not so pru-
dent or convenient, that those, who were
present, should know qtwhat they were con-
versing about. — They told likewise,
ytthat they had never been so much afraid
of any Person’s Conduct as that of
MacKechan; because he was a good-
natured Man, &and very timorous in his
Temper; but they frankly owned, they
had done him great Injustice by en-
tertaining any Suspicion about him, for
that he had behaved to Admiration, &and
had got abroad with yethe Prince, the great
Wish of his Soul; for he could never
think of parting wtwith him at any Time,
but upon Condition of meeting again,
qchwhich MacKechan was so lucky as fre-
quently to accomplish, even qnwhen, at part-
ing, they could scarce condescend u-
upon a Time or Place qnwhen &and qrewhere to meet.

Kingsburgh said, ytthat he asked particu-
larly at yethe Prince about Lord Geo:George Murray,
whether or not he could lay Treachery or
any such Thing to his Charge. The Prince
answered, ytthat he never would allow any
Thing of Treachery or Villainy to be
laid to yethe Charge of L:Lord G:George M:Murray but he
could not help owning, ytthat he had much
to bear of him fmfrom his Temper. The 151 (151)
The Prince asked Kingsburgh, if he
could inform him any Thing about the
Heads of the Clans; qtwhat they were
doing in yethe pntpresent Confusion. Kingsburgh
answered, ytthat MacDonald of Glencoe
had surrendredsurrendered himself, &and ytthat Came-
ron of Dungallan had done yethe same.
The Prince made no Remark at all
upon Glencoe; but, as to yethe oyrother, said,
“Cameron of Dungallan! Is not that
“Lochiel’s Major? Yes, said Kings-
“burgh; he is yethe same. Why, replied
“yethe Prince, I always looked upon Dun-
“gallan to be a Man of Sense.”

When the Prince was going out of
Kingsburgh’s House, he turned about,
&and said, “Can none of you give me
“a Snuff?” Upon qchwhich Mrs MacDonald
made up to him, &and offered him a Snuff
out of a little Silver-mill, wtwith two
Hands clasped together upon yethe Lid
of it, &and yethe common Motto, Rob Gib.
Kingsburgh begged yethe Prince to put yethe
Mill into his Pocket; “and (said Kings-
“burgh) he accordingly put ^it into a Wo-
“man’s muckle Poutch2 he had hanging
“by his Side.” After the Prince had
met wtwith Malcolm MacLeod, Kingsburgh
said, he had heard, ytthat yethe Prince, spy-
ing yethe Carving &and yethe Motto, asked Mac-
Leod what it meant. “Why (said
“MacLeod) ytthat is yethe Emblem we use in
“Scotland to represent a firm &and strong Friendship 152 (152)
“Friendship; &and yethe common Saying is, Rob
“Gib’s Contract, stark Love &and Kindness.
“Well, MacLeod (says yethe Prince) for ytthat
“very same Cause shall I endeavour to
“keep ysthis Mill all my Life.”

“All yethe Female-rags &and Bucklings (said
“Kingsburgh &and his Lady) ytthat were left in
“yethe Heart of yethe Bush, were taken up,
“&and carried to our House, in order to be
“carefully preserved; but qnwhen we had got
“Notice, ytthat yethe Troops had such exact Intelli-
“gence about yethe Prince, ytthat they parti-
“cularized yethe several Bucklings of Wo-
“mensWomen's CloathsClothes he had upon him, even
“to yethe Nicety of specifying Colours, &c.etc.
“(and Kingsburgh &and Miss MacDonald be-
“ing by ysthis Time made Prisoners) Word
“was sent to Mrs MacDonald &and her DaurDaughter
“to throw all yethe Female-dress into the
“Flames, to prevent any Discovery in
“Case of a Search.”— When yethe Rags
were a destroying, yethe Daughter insisted
upon preserving yethe Gown (which was
stamped Linen wtwith a purple Sprig) say-
ing, “That they might easily keep it safe,
“&and give out, that it belonged to one of
“yethe Family.”— The Gown was accordingly
preserved, &and Kingsburgh &and his Lady pro-
missed to send a Swatch of it to Mr
Stewart Carmichael at Bonnyhaugh,
as a Pattern to stamp oyrother Gowns from.

Kingsburgh rose fmfrom his Seat, and, coming
about to one of yethe Company, whispered in 153 (153)
in his Ear, “Sir, since you seem to
“know a good deal of these Affairs, pray,
“will you inform me qtwhat you know of
“Barrisdale’s Case? What do you think
“of that Point?” It was answered,
“It is certain enough, ytthat Barrisdale en-
“tredentered into Terms, wtwith yethe D:Duke of C:Cumberland ytthat he re-
“ceived a Protection for a certain limi-
“ted Time, &and ytthat he touched Money;”
but whether or not he was sincere in
yethe Design of seizing yethe Prince, or if he
intended to make Use of these Strata-
gems for consulting yethe Safety &and Pre-
servaonPreservation of yethe Prince, was qtwhat that
Person could not pretend to determine;
but one Thing was constantly affirmed
by all yethe Accounts from Abroad, that
Barrisdale was still in some Sort
of Confinement in France, i: e: a
Prisoner at large. Kingsburgh shook
his Head, &and said, “I am sorry to hear
“that he is a Prisoner in any Shape;
“for that says ill for him.” When Kings-
burgh was seated again, this Subject
happened to be spoken of publicklypublicly
in yethe Company, &and all agreed, ytthat they
had heard, ytthat Barrisdale still conti-
nued to be in some Sort of Confine-
ment in France. Kingsburgh insis-
ted upon it’sits being a very bad Sign, &and
again declared his Concern to have
such an Account of him.

When some of the Company happened to 154 (154)
to be talking of Major Lockheart’s
Cruelties in yethe Highlands, particular-
ly that of his having thrust his Sword
through yethe Body of a Child, aged four
Years, in at yethe Belly &and out at yethe Back,
Kingsburgh’s Lady said, “That was no
“Rarity among them; for that several
“old Men, Women &and Children had
“been butchered by ymthem in yethe Highlands.”

Dudwick was exceedingly much de-
lighted wtwith yethe Interview, &and said, he
had never before entertained any Noti-
on of that little Thing, Alexis; but ytthat
now it should be a Favourite of his, as
he well knew the Veracity of it, &and qtwhat
to say in it’sits Behalf.

N: B: After a Confinement of twelve
long Months for one Night’s Hospitality,
Kingsburgh was at last set at Liberty
upon Saturday, July 4th, 1747. upon
his preferring a Petition to the Justiciary Lords,
wherein he pled yethe Benefit of the Indemnity.
Before transcribing the above Conversation into
this Book, I went to EdrEdinburgh upon Tuesday’s Morn-
ing, July 14. 1747 &and read my Prima Cura in
the hearing of Dudwick, in order to know of him
if I had been exact enough. He told me, it was
very right, &and exactly written according to yethe Terms
of the Conversation. That Day Kingsburgh &and
his Lady had left EdrEdinburgh; so that I could not
have the Opportunity of reading it over
in their Hearing.

Robert Forbes, A:M:

Journal

Date	11 Jul 1747
Time
Occasion	The reading and discussion of the narrative assembled by John Walkinshaw or Dr Burton
Person (main)	Robert Forbes
Person (main)	Alexander MacDonald of Kingsburgh
Person (main)	Florence MacDonald
Person (participant)	John Fullarton, Senior, of Dudwick
Person (participant)	James MacDonald
Person (participant)	Charlotte Robertson, Lady Lude
Person (participant)	her eldest son
Person (participant)	her daughter
Person (participant)	Mrs Graham
Person (participant)	her son
Person (participant)	Mrs Rattray
Person (participant)	Mrs Jean Houstons
Person (participant)	Rachel Houstons
Person (participant)	&c. (about 14 in Number)
Place	Lady Bruce 's house